This week we are moving on to the third set of organizing profiles, those for the NF personality types.

INFJ stands for stands for Introverted – Intuitive – Feeling – Judging. These terms are explained in How does the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® work?

INFJ Organizing Strengths

INFJs appear to be highly organized. The majority feel that organizing comes naturally to them, as would be expected with a preference for Judging. People who prefer Judging like to live in a planned, orderly way, seeking to regulate and manage their lives. Sticking to plans and schedules is important to them, and getting things done energizes them.

INFJs typically finish what they start, have clear goals and priorities, and well-organized bookshelves and storage space. They remember meetings, special occasions, and tasks to be done, and have no difficulty making decisions. They don’t waste time rearranging or looking for things. They have no problem finding places to put their belongings and don’t tend to amass piles of unread magazines and newspapers.

INFJ Organizing Challenges

Due to their need for order, INFJs find it difficult to share their living or workspace with others who are less organized,  and find it stressful and difficult to perform well in a cluttered or chaotic environment.

INFJs identified several problem areas, as listed below, however, it should be kept in mind that INFJs often see themselves as not organized enough.

• Being considered disorganized by other people
• Prioritizing tasks and activities
• Procrastination
• Forgetting about tasks that aren’t on their “to do” list, social activities, birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions
• Not knowing where to put things, resulting in a lot of clutter
• Hoarding items that may be useful “some day” and those with sentimental value

One described the following dilemma:

“INFJ appear to be highly organized, can find space for items, and yet have times they do get snagged by sentimental value of objects that have little current use. We are somewhat caught with our memories of the events, the feelings associated with the events and want to keep the positive memories to remind us of our goodness, wholeness, achievements, and affirmations.”

They are typically not concerned with organizing everyday objects, and as a result may misplace things like keys, eyeglasses, and other such items.

INFJ Time Management Systems

The INFJ participants who participated in my Personality Type and Organizing Style survey expressed very strong preferences in terms of their time management tools, although their preferences varied widely, and included both paper-based and electronic systems.

One liked the compactness, durability, and portability of her black leather Day-Timer®, in the week-at-a-glance format and didn’t consider her computer to be reliable enough to use as a time management tool. (It was 2002; her trust in technology may have changed since then!)

Another tried using the Outlook® calendar, but found it wasn’t functional for her, since she wasn’t always at her computer. She would have liked to purchase a device that would allow her to easily transfer information between the it and her computer, but since she couldn’t afford one, she was using a paper Day-Timer® in the one page per day format.  She liked the monthly planner for seeing the whole picture, and the one page per day gave her enough space to “explode the detail” when necessary. She kept a family calendar in the kitchen as well.

A third participant maximized her use of technology, combining a Palm Pilot® with desktop contact management software, and synchronizing the two regularly.

Learn More

For more insight into the INFJ organizing style, read about Organic Structures on Pixies Did It.

For a broader view of the INFJ personality type, check out the following resources:

• Portrait of an INFJ: The Protector
• INFJ Personality (“The Advocate”)
• The INFJ
• INFJ in a Nutshell

Keep in mind that we are all unique, and even people sharing the same type preferences will not be the same in every way. Personality type is only one factor to consider when developing organizing solutions for your clients.

Are you an INFJ?

Help others understand your personality type and organizing style by answering one or more of the following questions in the Comments:

1. What are your organizing strengths?
2. What are your organizing challenges or weaknesses?
3. What organizing strategies work well for you?
4. What are your time management strengths?
5. What are your time management challenges or weaknesses?
6. What time management strategies work well for you?
7. What type of calendar(s) do you use?

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